Hamas Violates 12-Hour Truce as Conflict Escalates
The bloody war between Israel and Gaza shows no signs of abating, as Hamas violated a 12-hour truce over the weekend by continuing to shoot rockets into southern Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the war has intensified, and that an end to the conflict is nowhere in sight as Palestinian fighters try to cross the Israeli border.
Israel reneged on its offer to extend the truce Saturday when Palestinian rockets continued to fly into Israeli territory, according to Reuters. The night was relatively quiet, with only some gunfire heard, until a number of blasts hit Gaza Saturday afternoon.
The Israeli army said five soldiers died in two incidents, and Israeli media also reported that there were casualties during the Hamas infiltration of Israel, although that was not immediately confirmed.
Eight children and two adults were killed at a park in a Gazan refugee camp over the weekend, ending an unofficial truce sought by the United Nations during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr.
While Palestinians blamed Israel, saying it was an air strike, Israel said that the deaths were caused from the misfiring of a militant rocket, which are usually housed in heavily populated areas.
"It has been a difficult, painful day," Netanyahu said in a televised address, according to Reuters.
"We need to be prepared for a protracted campaign. We will continue to act with force and discretion until our mission is accomplished," he added. He said that Israeli soldiers will not leave Gaza until they destroy the tunnels, which are used by Hamas militants to infiltrate Israel.
Around 1,060 Gazans, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting, and 48 Israeli soldiers and three civilians were killed by shelling from Hamas militants.
While Gazans continue to blame Israel for all the strikes, Israel says Hamas uses their people as human shields, and care more about their hatred for Israelis than their own people.
Thousands of Gazans have fled their homes since fighting began three weeks ago. The Israeli military warned thousands of Palestinian civilians to evacuate their homes over the weekend in anticipation of major strikes.
While Gaza militants said they accepted a U.N. call for a truce during Eid, the end of fasting for the month of Ramadan, Hamas violated the truce by lobbing rockets during the short cease-fire.
When the blast occurred at the park, another blast hit Gaza's Shifa hospital at the same time, creating a high number of casualties. Israel also blamed the deaths on the misfiring of a Hamas missile.
Both President Barack Obama and the U.N. Security Council have urged Netanyahu to implement an immediate cease-fire, followed by negotiations to have a permanent end to the fighting.
However, Israel is worried that Hamas will use the truce talks to ease an Israeli-Egypt blockade on Gaza.
Hamas said its forces invaded Israel to retaliate for the killing of the children at the park.
"His threats do not frighten either Hamas or the Palestinian people, and the (Israeli) occupation will pay the price for its massacres against children and civilians," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon denounced both sides, saying both sides are showing an unwillingness to compromise.
"It's a matter of their political will. They have to show their humanity as leaders, both Israeli and Palestinian," he told reporters recently. "Why these leaders are making their people to be killed by others? It's not responsible, (it's) morally wrong."
An opinion poll on Israeli television said that there is widespread public support in Israel for continuing the offensive until Hamas is "disarmed."
At the same time, Islamic Jihad chief Zeyad Al-Nakhala said Hamas is making headway with Egypt to craft a truce deal.
"We are days away from the end of the battle, the clouds will clear and you (Palestinians) will see victory," he told Islamic Jihad's radio station Al-Quds. "We will not accept anything less than ending the blockade."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who visited the region last week to talk about an end to the violence, said progress was made in negotiations. However, neither side is willing to lay down their arms yet.